Port community systems
Why collaboration around shipments is not a new idea
Port community systems have been around since the late 1970’s and provide the information backbone supporting operations in many of the worlds major Ports. Europe in particular embraced this concept as a means to stream the dataflows between the Customs authorities and shippers, carriers, 3PL’s and other port users. Many of these systems are now somewhat dated and need either updating or replacing. Nonetheless, they are a clear illustration of how a port community can gain efficiency, cut waste and can also be very ‘Green’, ensuring very effective usage of resources.
The general adoption of the internet as a means of exchanging information has forced a major rethink with how organisations manage and share information. Open source technologies have brought pressure onto pricing models and users are now expecting access to information according to the Martini principle ‘Anytime - Anywhere - Anyhow’.
The phenomenal growth of social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn demonstrate the power of information sharing on a vast scale.
Ports are key ‘nodes’ in the global supply chain information network. Any and all parties involved in the movement of products through a port are 'de-facto' participants. Therefore any port wishing to innovate and prosper must clearly articulate their capabilities in this respect.
Interestingly, the implementation of an appropriate information platform may provide opportunities above and beyond the basic exchange of data related to inventory and shipments. Due to the ubiquity of the Internet, the Port may be able to serve the information needs of communities of users outside the physical boundaries of the port itself. Indeed, some of the existing Port community system operators already do this.
Back in the day, I recall some of the original managers of these systems speculating on how all electronic transactions relating to trade would flow through 'their' community system. This was before the Internet had escaped from the domain of the research universities, and the DoD and the World Wide Web was ten years into the future. In any event, if such a network were ever to exist, it was considered impossible that the authorities would ever let anyone but themselves or their telco’s control it. How things change.